4/28/14

Passive Solar Prefab House Adjusts Off Grid Solar For Spring And Summer Seasons

We arrived mid-afternoon, during a day that had seen high 70s/low 80s... I had the windows down in the car to cool the dogs and chickens as best possible, but still, it was a hot ride.

At the modern prefab house, chickens, dogs, and childrenz happily spilled out of the vehicle into the fields. Unpacking the overstuffed and stuffy car, it was so (literally) cool to enter the untouched prefab house- outdoors was dusty and gusty with warmth; but being well insulated, it was a nice refreshing 67/ 68 inside the prefab house- enough so that I, in my sundress, had goosebumps!!!!

The concrete floor was cool, the inside of the prefab house so refreshing...It was good to be home.

Passive solar at work at the prefab house-
note the shadows, with the approach of spring / summer,
lengthen over the windows, preventing the sun
from heating up the prefab house by radiating in, directly.

Seasonal chores at the off grid prefab house currently include...Continuing to plant...

Rows of planting, terraced in the slopes around the prefab house.

Some of the cloth covers had blown off in an intense storm, so I did my traditional direct sowing in those rows. Now it is a competition to see how my direct sow with weeding fares against Handsome Husband's cloth-covered rows. We. Shall. See.

The solar panels on the modern prefab house were also lowered, to better face the higher position of the sun.

Friday we headed to Bedford, VA, for Homeschool Day at the National D Day Memorial.

Learning how rationing works-
40 points and $2 to live on for a month!

The volunteers and staff were amazing. It was interesting to speak with them about how Homeschool Day compares to other school field trip visits. With homeschoolers, they are able to do more activities- we had seven stations where children learned and then worked on projects revolving around Spies, Propaganda, Rationing, Maps, Strategic Moments, and more, including a talk by a WWII veteran who shared his own experiences.